Pedro Madeira Antunes
Algoma University
I hold a B.Sc. in Biology from the University of Évora in Portugal and a Ph.D. in Soil Science from the University of Guelph in Canada. My interest in studying arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi began during my undergraduate studies, shaping my interest on investigating the factors that determine mycorrhizal function under various environmental conditions. After completing a postdoc at the Plant and Mycorrhizal Ecology Lab led by Dr. Matthias Rillig in Berlin in 2008/09, I accepted a faculty position at Algoma University, a newly established institution in northern Ontario, Canada. There, I established the Plant and Soil Ecology Lab. My current research program focuses on understanding how mycorrhizal symbioses respond to and modulate plant community responses to global change factors such as invasive species and climate change.
Session:
Session 4: Deliberate fungal invasions - fungi as bioinoculants (part I: Effects aboveground)
Abstract:
Leveraging soil feedback and mycorrhizal fungal trait data to achieve eco-friendly plant-soil management goals
Pedro Madeira Antunes
Department of Biology, Algoma University, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada, P6A2G4
Despite the recognized potential of commercial arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungal inoculants, their effective integration into agriculture and restoration continues to face significant scientific and practical challenges. Current evidence highlights the variable performance of these products and raises questions concerning their ability to establish, persist and function as expected under diverse conditions. First, I will present the results of studies assessing how AM fungal inoculation influences the composition of local mycorrhizal communities Second, I will discuss the influence of distinct AM fungal traits (morphological, physiological, and genetic), on host plant and soil carbon storage responses. In this context, I will include an evaluation of the potential for local adaptation of AM fungi and its implications. Third, I will explore alternative strategies for managing local mycorrhizal fungi, focusing on in situ techniques such as augmentation or the strategic use of soil feedback to optimize crop rotation sequences. Finally, I will extend a call for comparative analyses of these management practices to continue to improve our understanding of AM fungal ecology towards optimizing their benefits as, increasingly, soil management is required.
Research interests: mycorrhizal symbioses, community ecology, invasive species, soil feedback, global change factors, soil science